Johnson County Board of Supervisors Democratic candidates Jon Green and V Fixmer-Oraiz emphasized the importance of connecting with students at a University Democrats at Iowa meeting on Monday ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.

Green, an incumbent who won a 2021 special election, said he has a responsibility to be responsive to every corner of Johnson County.

“We owe students the same service that we owe to anyone else,” Green said at the organization’s meeting. “Anybody who lives in Johnson County, some people live here all their lives, some people might live here for a couple of months. Doesn’t matter how long you’re here, you deserve the same service from your elected government.”

Fixmer-Oraiz, a first-time candidate, also talked about the need to connect with students.

“Getting folks involved now hopefully will make them more informed citizens and want to be involved for the future, so we definitely need their insights, their passion, their questions, their curiosity, and it’s important to connect with folks,” Fixmer-Oraiz said.

During the event, Green and Fixmer-Oraiz spoke on their experiences, along with their goals should they be elected. Both also described what supervisors do, something they said has been a source of confusion for those unaware of the position and all the work involved.

University Democrats at Iowa President Nikša Poleksić said a priority of the group is to give students access to candidates to help inform them on who will be on the ballot.

“A lot of people when they get their ballot, they know a handful of names, but there’s a lot of names that throw them off and confuse them, and they’re like ‘I’ve never heard of this name, I don’t know what this position does,’” Poleksić said. “We want to provide the opportunity for people to understand everyone on their ballot and understand what they stand for.”

University Democrats at Iowa Vice President Ryan Westhoff shared a similar sentiment.

“[We want] people to get more excited about the candidates that are going to be on their ballots so that they talk to their friends, and they can get emotionally engaged in getting out to vote,” he said.

Early voting begins next Wednesday, Oct. 19, with a polling location open for three days at the Iowa Memorial Union.